e Power of One - Clover Sites
NOVEMBER 2011
The Power of One contemporary of John Wycliffe, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Jan Hus, he saw the scourge of the Black Death sweep a quarter of the population of the world away in a wave of pestilence; he saw France and England locked in the intractable conflagration of the Hundred Years War; he saw the Western church sundered by the Great Schism that produced two, sometimes three, sometimes even four, popes; and he saw the rise of the universities and the smothering influence of humanistic scholasticism. Churches were driven by corruption, kingdoms were shaken by instability, families were splintered by adversity, and the very foundations of Christian civilization in the West seemed to be crumbling. The Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland depicts ten reformers. Every one of the major reformers was educated in the discipleship schools begun by Gerard Groote. This central statue above includes Beza, Calvin, Farel, and Knox.
What can you do when you live in a time of great
change and upheaval? How can you make a difference when you are just one person or family up against powerful elites who seemingly control the destinies of everyone? The following story by Dr. George Grant reveals what one person can do. Some men’s greatness may be seen in how largely they loom over the movements they launched. But greater men are they whose movements loom large over them — even to the point of obscuring them from view. Gerhard Groote was just such a man. It would be difficult to find a single page of modern history written about him. But it would be even more difficult to find a single page of modern history that has not been profoundly affected by him. He lived in the tumultuous days of the fourteenth century. A
They were dire days indeed. The problems facing men and nations seemed all but insurmountable. Doomsayers had a heyday. Sound familiar? Groote was raised in the home of a prosperous merchant and received the finest education available. He found it difficult to take the claims of his academic masters, his ecclesiastical mentors, and his church peers seriously. Like so many of his contemporaries, he concluded that the overt wickedness of the church and the blatant debauchery of the university mitigated against any serious belief in the gospel. As a result, he ran from conviction and spent his youth and his wealth on reckless and heedless dissipation. He moved progressively from spoiled brat to party animal to insufferable boor. When he was finally arrested by grace and converted, he had tasted all the pleasures the medieval world had to offer — and still he yearned for more. As an ardent new convert in the midst of a church awash in promiscuous impiety, he lifted up an urgent prophetic voice against the evils of his day. He began
The Power of One to model a life of radical discipleship. And he attracted a strong following in his native Dutch lowlands. Eventually, Groote’s movement came to be known as the Brethren of the Common Life. He and his followers were committed to the authority of the Scriptures first and foremost. They promoted biblical preaching that was practical and accessible to the ordinary Christian. They pioneered vernacular translations of the Bible. And they founded schools to educate young men and women to be wise and discerning believers as well as effective and successful citizens. The revival wrought by the movement was genuine, vibrant, and even widely admired. Even so, it could hardly have been expected to put a dent in the overwhelming problems of the day. Indeed, the litany of fourteenth century woes continued, seemingly unabated. When Groote died, some asserted that his efforts at renewal were ultimately stymied by the fierce reality of the circumstances of the day; he was by all such accounts, a failure. But throughout his life and ministry, Groote was laying foundations for something that might endure well beyond his own life and ministry. He had a multigenerational plan. He understood that it had taken a very long time for Western civilization to get into the mess that it was in and that no man or movement, no matter how potent or effective, would be able to turn things around overnight. That was why the heart and soul of his plan was to disseminate the Scriptures and build schools. His covenantal theology had led him to have a generational vision, one that enabled him to invest in a future he would likely never see on this earth. It was a wise strategy. Amazingly, in less than a century and a half the strategy began to bear abundant fruit: it was in those scattered and seemingly insignificant Brethren of Common Life schools that nearly every one of the magisterial reformers would ultimately be educated: Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Melancthon, Bucer, and Beza.
NOVEMBER 2011 An obscure man changed the course of history — albeit generations later — by simply living out the implications of radical grace and covenantal faithfulness right where he was. He faced the impossible odds of a culture gone terribly awry. He implemented a generational vision that laid new foundations for freedom and prosperity simply by equipping and enabling future leaders. Perhaps by looking back at Groote and his reforming work, we will be able to see our way forward for our own. After all, his was a distinctly biblical vision, a sound vision, and thus a rather unpopular vision. And it still is. - Dr. George Grant Dr. George Grant is Director of the Kings Meadow Study Center. He is the author of some four dozen books in the areas of history, politics, biography, social issues, and theology.
An Encouraging Note from
Dr. Marshall Foster This dynamic article by my friend George Grant reveals the vision for lasting liberty. For centuries stories of courageous freedom heroes like Gerhard Groote inspired America's youth to live noble lives of purpose and meaning. Yet for generations these truths have been forgotten. Together with your help, we are inspiring hundreds of thousands of Americans to maximize their potential as world-changers. Godly education is the biblical and historically proven way to restore freedom and prosperity in America. Thank you for your continued prayers and support in this great endeavor. Every contribution is deeply appreciated. Please pray for me as I teach families and students at historic East Coast sites this month. Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
WORLD HISTORY INSTITUTE teaches the liberating lessons of historically-proven biblical principles to benefit people of all nations. Resources, conferences and tours have been provided since 1976. WHI is a 501(c)3 non-profit ministry. Your involvement and tax-deductible contributions are encouraged. © Copyright 2011, World History Institute, PO Box 4673, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362, 805.523.0072, www.WorldHistoryInstitute.org.
The Power of One contemporary of John Wycliffe, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Jan Hus, he saw the scourge of the Black Death sweep a quarter of the population of the world away in a wave of pestilence; he saw France and England locked in the intractable conflagration of the Hundred Years War; he saw the Western church sundered by the Great Schism that produced two, sometimes three, sometimes even four, popes; and he saw the rise of the universities and the smothering influence of humanistic scholasticism. Churches were driven by corruption, kingdoms were shaken by instability, families were splintered by adversity, and the very foundations of Christian civilization in the West seemed to be crumbling. The Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland depicts ten reformers. Every one of the major reformers was educated in the discipleship schools begun by Gerard Groote. This central statue above includes Beza, Calvin, Farel, and Knox.
What can you do when you live in a time of great
change and upheaval? How can you make a difference when you are just one person or family up against powerful elites who seemingly control the destinies of everyone? The following story by Dr. George Grant reveals what one person can do. Some men’s greatness may be seen in how largely they loom over the movements they launched. But greater men are they whose movements loom large over them — even to the point of obscuring them from view. Gerhard Groote was just such a man. It would be difficult to find a single page of modern history written about him. But it would be even more difficult to find a single page of modern history that has not been profoundly affected by him. He lived in the tumultuous days of the fourteenth century. A
They were dire days indeed. The problems facing men and nations seemed all but insurmountable. Doomsayers had a heyday. Sound familiar? Groote was raised in the home of a prosperous merchant and received the finest education available. He found it difficult to take the claims of his academic masters, his ecclesiastical mentors, and his church peers seriously. Like so many of his contemporaries, he concluded that the overt wickedness of the church and the blatant debauchery of the university mitigated against any serious belief in the gospel. As a result, he ran from conviction and spent his youth and his wealth on reckless and heedless dissipation. He moved progressively from spoiled brat to party animal to insufferable boor. When he was finally arrested by grace and converted, he had tasted all the pleasures the medieval world had to offer — and still he yearned for more. As an ardent new convert in the midst of a church awash in promiscuous impiety, he lifted up an urgent prophetic voice against the evils of his day. He began
The Power of One to model a life of radical discipleship. And he attracted a strong following in his native Dutch lowlands. Eventually, Groote’s movement came to be known as the Brethren of the Common Life. He and his followers were committed to the authority of the Scriptures first and foremost. They promoted biblical preaching that was practical and accessible to the ordinary Christian. They pioneered vernacular translations of the Bible. And they founded schools to educate young men and women to be wise and discerning believers as well as effective and successful citizens. The revival wrought by the movement was genuine, vibrant, and even widely admired. Even so, it could hardly have been expected to put a dent in the overwhelming problems of the day. Indeed, the litany of fourteenth century woes continued, seemingly unabated. When Groote died, some asserted that his efforts at renewal were ultimately stymied by the fierce reality of the circumstances of the day; he was by all such accounts, a failure. But throughout his life and ministry, Groote was laying foundations for something that might endure well beyond his own life and ministry. He had a multigenerational plan. He understood that it had taken a very long time for Western civilization to get into the mess that it was in and that no man or movement, no matter how potent or effective, would be able to turn things around overnight. That was why the heart and soul of his plan was to disseminate the Scriptures and build schools. His covenantal theology had led him to have a generational vision, one that enabled him to invest in a future he would likely never see on this earth. It was a wise strategy. Amazingly, in less than a century and a half the strategy began to bear abundant fruit: it was in those scattered and seemingly insignificant Brethren of Common Life schools that nearly every one of the magisterial reformers would ultimately be educated: Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Melancthon, Bucer, and Beza.
NOVEMBER 2011 An obscure man changed the course of history — albeit generations later — by simply living out the implications of radical grace and covenantal faithfulness right where he was. He faced the impossible odds of a culture gone terribly awry. He implemented a generational vision that laid new foundations for freedom and prosperity simply by equipping and enabling future leaders. Perhaps by looking back at Groote and his reforming work, we will be able to see our way forward for our own. After all, his was a distinctly biblical vision, a sound vision, and thus a rather unpopular vision. And it still is. - Dr. George Grant Dr. George Grant is Director of the Kings Meadow Study Center. He is the author of some four dozen books in the areas of history, politics, biography, social issues, and theology.
An Encouraging Note from
Dr. Marshall Foster This dynamic article by my friend George Grant reveals the vision for lasting liberty. For centuries stories of courageous freedom heroes like Gerhard Groote inspired America's youth to live noble lives of purpose and meaning. Yet for generations these truths have been forgotten. Together with your help, we are inspiring hundreds of thousands of Americans to maximize their potential as world-changers. Godly education is the biblical and historically proven way to restore freedom and prosperity in America. Thank you for your continued prayers and support in this great endeavor. Every contribution is deeply appreciated. Please pray for me as I teach families and students at historic East Coast sites this month. Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
WORLD HISTORY INSTITUTE teaches the liberating lessons of historically-proven biblical principles to benefit people of all nations. Resources, conferences and tours have been provided since 1976. WHI is a 501(c)3 non-profit ministry. Your involvement and tax-deductible contributions are encouraged. © Copyright 2011, World History Institute, PO Box 4673, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362, 805.523.0072, www.WorldHistoryInstitute.org.
